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THE 151st FIELD ARTILLERY 

BRIGADE 




m 









Major General Wm. S. McNair 



THE 
151st FIELD ARTILLERY 

BRIGADE 



BY 



RICHARD M. RUSSELL 




THE CORNHILL COMPANY 

BOSTON 



Copyright, 19 19, by 
The Cornhill Company 






©CU566666 

ADD .o 



TO MY OLD COMRADES 

If you find in the pages that follow anything to 
amuse or interest you and yours, thank Mrs. 
William S. McNair, Major Swift, Captain Converse 
and Lieutenant Clement, to whom the author is 
indebted for the information herein contained. 

R. M. R. 

Boston, April 2j, ipip. 



THE 151st FIELD ARTILLERY 

BRIGADE 



The 151st Field Artillery 

Brigade 



INTRODUCTION 

In writing this brief sketch of the Brigade from its 
inception to its final mustering out of the service, it 
has not been my aim to account in any way for all the 
days and nights which have elapsed during that period. 
Memories fond or hateful to some of us would not 
be very interesting to the rest. Looking backward 
from the point of view of the Brigade as a unit, many 
of those days were so monotonously alike that an at- 
tempt to account for all would lead to idle repetition. 
Well I realize that every one of them stands for some- 
thing important in the career of some one man ; per- 
haps his first tour of guard duty, or his first ride, a 
close call, a bawling out, something accomplished, 
something learnt. But I have not time, space nor 
knowledge to write these details. If, however, by my 
generalities I can so picture our life at Devens and 
after that this little book will recall to its readers those 
things I have omitted, it will have served its purpose. 

[7] 



THE 151st BRIGADE ] 

I. CAMP DEVENS 

In April, 191 7, the United States declared war against 
Germany. It was no surprise, but what did it mean? 
For it is one thing to declare war and another to wage 
it. We had no army and no ships and three thousand 
miles of ocean lay between the Yankee and the Hun. 
We would of course lend money to our allies. Would 
we give them our men ? The answer, thank God, was 
the draft law which put into being the greatest dem- 
ocratic institution of our country, — the National Army. 

Early in the fall of 191 7, men from every walk of 
life, from every corner of every state, thronged to 
the huge, ugly, but business-like cantonments which 
had grown up, like the mushroom over night. These 
men, scientifically chosen, for their physique, mental- 
ity, character and patriotism, were as diversified in 
their civil life and occupations as men can be, but 
they had one thing in common : ignorance of the mil- 
itary. This and the single purpose that brought them 
there, welded them together. If Germany scorned our 
declaration of war, she must have sung another tune 
as she watched us prepare to wage it. 

Camp Devens, Massachusetts, was the rendez-vous 
for New England's Yankees. They were the personnel 
of the first of the National Army Divisions, the 
Seventy-Sixth. 

[8] 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 9 

The Divisional Artillery was to consist of the 301st, 
the 302nd, and 303rd regiments, Colonels Brooke, 
Craig and Conklin respectively commanding. Thus 
it was that the 151st Field Artillery Brigade was born, 
and with what promise! Maine, New Hampshire, 
Vermont and Massachusetts furnished the quota, with 
many a generation of fighting ancestors behind them 
and traditions of battles won, not only in war but in 
every field of human endeavor. 

Was it strange then that Major-General William S. 
McNair, then Brigadier-General, shortly after he took 
command in December of that year said that he felt 
as proud as the young mother when she sees her first 
bom take its first four steps? 

Those early months found us awkward and nearly 
as helpless as the infant to which the General referred, 
but men and officers alike were using this time to 
advantage; both had to adapt themselves to new ways 
of thinking and living, and even the language of the 
army was as strange to us then as was French when 
we finally got to France. 

It was perhaps at this time more than any other, 
that we had cause to be thankful to the General, 
Colonels and Lieutenant Colonels for their able and 
generous assistance in getting the younger officers over 
those first hurdles. Let us here extend our utmost 
appreciation to Lieutenant Colonels Rehkopf, Dan- 
forth and Stopford whose loss to the Brigade we have 
had many an occasion to regret. But they like many 



lo THE 151ST BRIGADE 

others of our best were called upon to take bigger jobs 
where they could be of even greater value to the 
country all were now serving. 

In many respects those days were the hardest of 
all; everything was strange. For a time, standing in 
line hour after hour was an interesting novelty and 
gave the ever-present jester an opportunity to exercise 
his wit; so with the drills. But human beings, par- 
ticularly the Yankee variety, adapt themselves quickly 
to their surroundings. Standing in line a couple of 
hours for a pair of shoes or a cup of soup ceases 
eventually to be an interesting novelty. And when the 
soup so acquired is knocked from your hand by an 
over zealous companion and soils the uniform you 
must keep clean, you may perhaps forgive him and 
laugh; but all that is funny therein is almost sure to 
occur to your fertile mind and keen sense of humor 
the first time it happens. Repetition is superfluous. 

Being herded together, seeing the same man on either 
side of you ever}' day and all day, having to do what 
you are told day and night, has but limited charms for 
the independent citizen of America. Thoughts were 
turned, first backward, to the days when we had been 
individuals instead of a mite of a cog in a great ma- 
chine, and then forward, with the inevitable question : 
how long was it all to last? We would have been 
homesick, desperately so, but there was no time. A 
bugle broke our sleep when it was still dark. Another 
summoned us to a formation before it was physically 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 



II 



possible to get dressed, from which we were marched 
to breakfast. A whistle, followed by the First Ser- 
geant's "Fall Out", arrested the first mouthful and 
told us we would not have time to wash mess kits 
before policing. Policing was followed by inspection, 
where the Captain would bawl us out for the condition 
of those same wretched mess kits. Inspection was 
followed by physical exercises; physical exercies by 
foot drill, foot drill by a hike, the hike by mess. In 
the afternoon we rehearsed the events of the morning. 
Supper was followed by school, then taps, then bed, 
then reveille. To-day is a repetition of yesterday,' 
to-morrow will be a repetition of to-day. But to-day 
we are not going to be bawled out for dirty mess kits, 
we wash them and are late for policing; the First 
Sergeant puts us in the kitchen for a week and we 
learn the meaning of K. P.* We are soon repentant 
and resolve to be on time to formation. This is the 
school of the Rookie and this is how he learns the 
impossible. "Take therefore no thought for the mor- 
row, for the morrow shall take thought for the things 
of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." 

The next quota of men come into camp; we have 
graduated ; they are the rookies ; we are the soldiers ; 
we laugh; they look puzzled. 

Then came the winter, and what a winter ! Arthur 
Mometer said it was zero hour all the time. Of course 



►Kitchen Police. 



12 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

he did not know. He was a Rookie, but somehow it 
didn't make it any warmer nor the snow less deep. 
We shovelled snow and froze doing it, we had exer- 
cises and we froze doing that, we drilled with the 
same result. Live horses took the place of those 
ever-to-be-remembered wooden monstrosities. We 
groomed them and they bit us. We exercised them 
and they kicked us. But we got hard and we got 
health and we became soldiers. IndividuaUty was 
superseded by discipline. 

About this time a touch of war and Hun Hellishness 
was brought home to us. William S. McNair, Colonel 
of the 6th Field Artillery was promoted in France 
and ordered to America to command our Brigade. 
Accordingly he left France on the U. S. S. "Antilles". 
At about 6.45 in the morning of October 17th a Ger- 
man submarine succeeded in torpedoing his boat. She 
sank immediately with the loss of about 65 lives. The 
General was in the water for some three quarters of 
an hour, when he was taken into a life boat. Six hours 
later one of the convoy, the Morgan yacht "Corsair" 
returned from trying to find the submarine and took 
aboard all the survivors. They returned to France 
and two weeks later the General again sailed for home 
on the transport "Tenadores". The "Tenadores" has 
since been sunk by a mine, but happily for the Brigade 
it was not on this voyage. 

Christmas came and with it the joy of home for a 
few, but the majority of the men must stay in camp. 



THE 15 1ST BRIGADE 13 

It was all part of the great task we had undertaken. 
We accepted it as such. Transportation was not avail- 
able to move our now vast army to its homes. We 
made merry, or rather, we did better than that; we 
pretended to make merry. We sang the songs we had 
rehearsed for the occasion. It was a holiday. There 
were no drills. We had time to think. We can be 
honest now. Our thoughts were not those of the 
schoolboy on his holiday with his plans for stockings 
and Christmas tree, dinner and stomach ache. They 
were far-away thoughts of things, once commonplace 
and taken for granted, now suddenly and forever 
dearer than life itself; things which in fact made life 
worth while. Home, loved, of course, but so much a 
part of us that we had grown to accept it as a matter 
of right. But strangely enough our thoughts carried 
us farther. We found that we were longing for the 
little individual problems of our daily routine in the 
past, — problems that had once perplexed and annoyed 
us we now craved as a hungry man craves food. 

Months slipped by, and with them the winter. 
Spring rumors of France took the place of winter 
rumors, but the warm weather and a few guns found 
us ready for the real work of artillerymen. Reveille 
was an hour earlier and retreat an hour later. But 
we were up hours before reveille with a call to stables 
followed by boots and saddles. We hitched the horses 
to the guns in the darkness, that we might get all the 
daylight on the range. A runaway was not an unusual 



14 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

diversion. But as we had become fit, so did the horses. 
Every day saw men and horses in better condition and 
better trained. Team work and order was taking the 
place of individual endeavor and chaos. A machine 
with intelligence was in the making, and results were 
beginning to assert themselves. Each cog was finding 
its place and taking hold with a will. A sharp com- 
mand in the crisp air put the works instantly in motion, 
where a month before explanations, demonstrations, 
repeated attempts and failures had only succeeded in 
getting parts of our engine to function. Now the gears 
were adjusted, we needed but to limber them up and 
oil the parts. An occasional "Well Done" would take 
the place of continuous reprimand. We became proud 
of ourselves and our organization. A healthy spirit 
of rivalry stalked abroad. We were the best section 
in the best battery, and of course our regiment was 
the best in the Brigade, if not in the army ! Officers 
were proud of their men, and the men were proud of 
the officers. Each began to know the other, his powers 
and his limitations. Sympathy took the place of mis- 
understanding and surliness. 

So on the range, the officers acquired the theoretical 
elements of artillery firing. They learnt to figure their 
data with accuracy and to convey it to their batteries 
in terse and comprehensive commands. The men in 
their turn were seeing the purpose of the monotonous 
daily drills of the six months past and the value of 
team work. They acquired an intimate knowledge of 




Colonel Geo. M. Brooke 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 15 

the pieces they were serving; the delicacy of the 
mechanism and the consequent necessity for accurate 
laying. They responded with alacrity to the orders 
of their superiors, and the guns responded to the 
slightest touch of the crews. All were alert, smart, 
prompt, — officers and men alike, fascinated with the 
possibilities of the game they were rapidly learning to 
play. Even the details, after months of labor, became 
proficient at the wig wag, semaphore, buzzer, map- 
making and sketching; in short, all of those things 
which we discovered later, played such an important 
part in winning the war. 

So when the government inspectors began to look us 
over and rumors flew faster, we were not found want- 
ing. The wheels were oiled and the spirit was there. 

But here I am rudely stopped by the adjutant of the 
301st who says we can't leave Devens without a Horse 
Show. Of course he is right. It can't be done, al- 
though it does seem tough after having oiled the wheels 
to such perfection. However what must be done shall 
be done gracefully; so thought Captain Page at the 
second hurdle where he decided to make the rest of 
the trip on his ear. 

And the horses, too, grasped the spirit. Like many 
people they enjoyed the show from without the ring 
better than within it. Some came on the scene with 
dignity, only to bolt the next minute, not to reappear. 
Some merely confounded their riders by refusing 
jumps, while others were unmannered enough to re- 



i6 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

fuse to show. For all that, it was a Horse Show and 
one of which to be proud. 

Since ceremonies are in order, let us not forget the 
prayer which took place one memorable day on the 
Parade Ground with the entire Division drawn up for 
the occasion. Here a horse also figured, — the Division 
Adjutant's. As the parson began to pray, the horse 
started to jump and those who were nearest insisted 
that the adjutant outdid the parson. I will not say, 
for I could hear the adjutant and I could not hear 
the parson. This was the last time the Division was 
together as a unit. 

One day toward the end of June a long train was 
spotted in the quartermaster yards. Trucks were soon 
busy carrying officers, men and their baggage in that 
direction. Of course, nobody knew that an advance 
party of some hundred officers and three hundred men 
had been secretly ordered to report to the Command- 
ing General, Port of Embarkation, New York, for 
transportation overseas. On June 27th they sailed on 
the British liner "Justicia", which was sunk on her 
return trip. But the American soldier is no fool. He 
has learnt to keep his eyes open and his mouth shut, 
to believe about half he sees and nothing he hears. 
He was more sure now that the Division was about 
to sail for France than if he had read it in every news- 
paper in the United States. 

In another two weeks rumors were forgotten. On 
July loth the Division was ordered overseas. This 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 17 

was fact. The air was charged with excitement, which 
however found its expression in orderly and untiring 
hustle and bustle. Men, animals and transportation 
were all worked overtime, but even balky army trucks 
seemed to go for once with a will. The labors of the 
last ten months were not to be in vain. We were to 
have a chance to practise what we had learnt and per- 
haps to show the Hun a few tricks of his own game. 

The Artillery were the last to leave. It was not a 
difficult task. We were to receive our materiel in 
France. Individual equipment only was to accompany 
the troops, for we had nothing else. The few guns 
we drilled with were out of date and not used abroad. 
The 302nd, and 303rd regiments were already motor- 
ized on paper, so horses were no longer needed for 
them, but the 301st must have shed bitter tears for 
the beautiful animals they had spent so much time and 
energy to condition and train. 

Twenty-eight lieutenants of the 302nd left ahead of 
their regiment and sailed from Boston on the 
"Katoomba" which touched at Halifax on its way to 
Liverpool. 



11. OVERSEAS 

Of that last journey from Devens to Boston on July 
15th there is nothing to chronicle. We were again 
for that brief period of time individuals. Thought 
and not action crowded the hour. And what a curious 
collection of thoughts they were. Each was absorbed 
with the things nearest and dearest, soon to be far 
away. But there were other, exciting thoughts. We 
were on our way ! What boats were to carry us ? The 
sea ! What were we going to accomplish ? And that 
far-away France, — what was it like? And war, what 
was it like? Would we come back? 

The train stopped. 'Tall out". There was a 
scramble for one's possessions, followed by another 
for our places on the platform. We were marched on 
board and to our bunks, where we left our belongings 
and hastened on deck. All was again hustle and ex- 
citement. The gang planks were lowered, the hawsers 
dropped. The whistles were blowing and we were off 
for France, — off for the war, July i6th, 1918. 

Our boat was the "Winifredian". Soon we were 
absorbed in our surroundings. There were twenty- 
three ships in our convoy, curious in their camouflage, 
but then all was strange to most of us, who were 
not used to ocean liners. And the harbor had its 
fascinations. Comparatively speaking we were men 

[18] 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 19 

of leisure. Jest once more asserted itself. Our 
quarters while not altogether to our taste, like most 
other things in the army would have to do, since there 
was no alternative. We turned in and strangely 
enough we slept. 

Then sounded that good old familiar bugle with 
the good old familiar: 



We 


can't 


get 


'em 


up, 








We 


can't 


get 


'em 


up, 








We 


can't 


get 


'em 


up 


in 


the 


morning; 


We 


can't 


get 


'em 


up, 








We 


can't 


get 


'em 


up, 








We 


can't 


get 


'em 


up 


at 


all." 



Where were we ? Oh yes ! On our way to France. 
We dressed hurriedly and got up on deck. The con- 
voy was still there but not all of it. Four ships had 
disappeared and various theories were propounded. 
But just as the official dopster had got them well 
sunk by a submarine and was counting the casualties, 
it was announced that they had put into Halifax. Ap- 
parently the convoy was too large and unwieldy, so 
four boats had to drop out, one of which was the 
"Novara" with the 301st on board. However the 
other two regiments were still in the convoy and we 
proceeded on our way. We had boat drill and we 
wore life preservers, and we got rather bored with 
both. As for guard duty and setting up exercises they 
bored us eight months before. Seasickness is prefer- 



20 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

able to either, and there were a good many of us sick. 

While we were sailing merrily across the North 
Atlantic, the 301st had disembarked at Halifax and 
was playing with the Canadian troops there and there- 
abouts. But it was only for a week, when they were 
again on their way, this time on the "Abinsi". 

As the 301st left Canada, the other two regiments 
landed in England, one at Liverpool, another at Bristol, 
and Brigade Headquarters at Avonmouth on July 31st. 

The next novelty was the English railway carriage 
or coach, as they call it. It was the latest model Hm- 
ousine with side entrances and compartments. We 
tried them and landed at Camp Momhill near Win- 
chester, where we found the twenty-eight officers of 
the 302nd who had sailed from Boston just ahead 
of us. A week later the 301st came to Winchester, 
but they had become somewhat exclusive in Canada 
and so on August eighth they went to Romsey instead 
of our camp. Winchester apparently produces a good 
deal of mud and a lot of rain. At any rate it was not 
sufficiently alluring to detain us for long. We pro- 
ceeded to Southhampton. *T say does it always rain 
here?" But before our British friend got around to 
answering us we were again on the move, — this time 
to a Channel steamer, and France. So we were really 
going to France and the war, and not for a tour of 
the world. 

On August 3rd the steamer that took Brigade Head- 
quarters and the 303rd across the English Channel, or 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 21 

La Manche as the French call it, was one of our 
own, — and hence, a good boat. She used to run be- 
tween Boston and New York, and her name used to 
be "The Yale". Than which there is but one better: 
'The Harvard". The 302nd crossed on her the next 
day. 

The 301st was still about a week behind the rest of 
the Brigade. They sailed from Southhampton on Au- 
gust 14th and also landed at Le Havre. 

"So this is Frogland ! Look at the frogs, — wooden 
shoes and all ! Even the little children speak French 
here." But they did not give us time to get acquainted. 
Again we were off, this time on a French train. They 
have them like the British, but this one looked like 
the variety we used to play with as kids, only each 
car says on the outside "40 Hommes, 8 Chevaux." We 
knew not what it meant but the stench was 
indicative. 

Two days got us to Bordeaux. We arrived on 
August 6th and Brigade Headquarters was established 
on August 7th at Gradignan in a very attractive villa 
with beautiful grounds. The 301st also established 
Headquarters at Gradignan, on August 17th, and bil- 
leted their men in the village. You will notice that 
here they were more than a week behind us. They 
account for this by an aeroplane attack at Rouen. The 
302nd was billeted in two little villages, Ville Nave 
and Pont de la Maye, a few kilometres from Brigade 
Headquarters. The 301st Ammunition Train was at 



22 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

Cadaujac. 

We seemed doomed to lose a regiment. At Havre 
the 303rd was ordered to Clermont Ferrand for its 
training. 

While the regiments were en route from the United 
States to France, the Advance Schools Detachment of 
the Brigade were wandering over Europe. From 
Liverpool they went to Southampton and Le Havre, 
then to Le Valdahon near the Swiss border. There 
they spent a couple of weeks and saw some American 
artillery training and a few Hun planes. From Le 
Valdahon the contingent from the 303rd went to 
Clermont and those of the other two regiments went 
to Souge, near Bordeaux. 

It was about this time that we were informed that 
we were no longer a part of the 76th Division, but 
were to be a Brigade of Corps Artillery. It did not 
cause many tears as the 76th was already doing duty 
as a replacement division with no chance of going to 
the front as a unit. Our tables of organization were 
changed accordingly and we were rapidly equipped for 
duty in our new capacity. The 303rd regiment was 
issued G. P. F.s, the famous French 155 m. m. long 
rifle with a range of about 17,000 metres. The 301st 
got the world renowned French 75, the best known 
gun of the war, and the 302nd got American 4.7 rifles 
about which nothing was known. 

While in Gradignan and vicinity our days consisted 
largely in getting acquainted with our new guns. We 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 23 

also learnt French and paraded. Some of our number 
were detailed to join the Advanced Schools Detach- 
ment at Camp de Souge, August 14th. 

On August 25th the London Evening Mail published 
the news of General NcNair's promotion. We were 
of course glad of the obviously merited reward, but 
selfishly would rather have had it otherwise, for of 
course he would cease to be our Brigade commander. 
However, at the time we consoled ourselves with the 
thought that he might command the Corps artillery of 
which we would be a part. That night there was a 
dinner and celebration at Brigade Headquarters. The 
scene was picturesque and one to be remembered. The 
French Mayors of the villages where our troops were 
billeted were invited and came. The meal was served 
on the lawn under a hugh tree in those beautiful gar- 
dens. A hundred yards down the lawn through the 
trees we could see the 301st band, conducted by Lieu- 
tenant Keller. They played as even they had never 
played before. The villagers, hearing the music, 
flocked to the gates and the General sent word to the 
guard that the sentries were to let them in. In they 
came and went straight to the music. Sitting on the 
lawn they made a huge circle around the band, and 
gave our Headquarters a very festive appearance. It 
was a rare occasion for them. Lovers of music that 
they were, it was seldom that they had an opportunity 
to hear it. Their own bands had long been busy 
nearer the front. 



24 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

On Spetember 5th and 8th the two regiments, 302nd 
and 301st respectively, moved to Souge for the final 
six weeks firing before going to the front. We made 
the trip, some twenty miles, with our own transporta- 
tion. Brigade Headquarters was established at the 
camp on September 8th and the Ammunition Train 
moved in the same day. 

Souge is located in the middle of a sand desert at 
the end of the world. As far as you can see there 
is not a landmark to relieve the monotony. It is as 
flat as a table all the way to the sea, some twenty-five 
miles distant. As Major Hadley of the 301st re- 
marked: "It is a nice beach but where is the water?" 
Souge may best be described as follows, — a camp some 
two miles long of ramshackle, broken down, foul 
smelling barracks in the middle of the desert which 
was to be our range. FHes, sand, dust and heat were 
in abundance, as were dysentery and the "Flu" at 
times. The flies were like ours except larger, more 
abundant and infinitely more obnoxious. As one of 
our men wrote home, he was in the hospital as a re- 
sult of having been kicked by a fly. 

Of all the camps in the A. E. F. 
Whether S. O. S. or zone of Advance, 
You will cuss until you're out of breath 
This Camp de Souge in France. 

But there we were. We ate the dust, we killed flies 
and we sweat in the sweltering heat, as we pulled 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 25 

guns, trucks and tractors through that damnable sand. 
On September 21st the long dreaded orders for 
Major General McNair arrived and with them Secre- 
tary of War Baker, General Tasker Bliss and a flock 
of Major Generals and Brigadiers. That same day 
he relinquished the command to Brigadier General 
Richmond P. Davis and left camp to take command 
of the Artillery of the First Army. 

The finishing touches were applied. We were in- 
spected. We passed our examinations and were ready 
for the front. When would the orders come ? There 
were already rumors of peace,— were we to miss the 
party after a year and a half of preparation? The 
thought was nauseating, but we stuck to our work. 
We knew our Brigade Commander was a hustler. We 
could see it, and General McNair had said so. Confi- 
dence ran high. 

We had an abundance of ammunition and General 
Davis ordered a problem to cover three days. The 
guns were to go into position at night and without 
lights; they did. We established communication by 
telephone, radio and projector, and maintained 
it. Conversation was in code and cypher. We 
were to fire an offensive barrage over the infantry ; it 
was done. The infantry called for a defensive bar- 
rage at 11.40 at night; it was layed before the rocket 
burst. 

Altogether in this problem of four regiments the 



26 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

75s fired about 6,000 rounds and the 4.7s about 600.* 
In the meantime it rained, or rather poured. The 
heavens were trying to make good for the past six 
months of inaction, — they did. Or perhaps it was the 
302nd weeping for the now certain loss of Colonel 
Craig. He had received his promotion and it was only 
a question of time before his orders would arrive. 
Loved and respected by all who knew him, he was to 
leave a vacancy hard to fill. His officers gave him a 
dinner in Bordeaux on October 7th. 

*The 346th and 347th regiments were temporarily brigaded 
with us for administrative purposes. 



III. THE FRONT 

It was while our problem was in progress that Gen- 
eral Davis and part of his staff left for the front, 
October nth. A few days later, on October 17th, he 
was followed by the rest of his staff. So the regiments 
polished and oiled their materiel and entrained at the 
camp for God-knows-where. One thing was certain 
and that was we were going forward and not back, 
for from Bordeaux it takes a boat to go in the latter 
direction. It was at this time that we knew definitely 
that the 301st was to leave the Brigade. It was to be 
army artillery and received different orders, confirm- 
ing our fears when it was detached by telegraphic 
order of October 2nd. 

Hardly had the General with a few members of his 
staff arrived at the front when a stray shell killed his 
aide, Lieutenant W. B. Dixon, Jr., October 19th, 1918. 
He was buried with military honors where he fell near 
Bouillonville. He had been with us but a few days, 
but such was his personality and charm that he had 
become as closely identified with the Brigade as the 
oldest member of the staff. His death was a personal 
loss to every one of us. 

Brigade Headquarters was estabUshed at St. Mihiel, 
Meuse, October 19th, 1918, and the entries in the of- 
ficial War Diary begin. I have the diary before me as 

[27] 



28 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

I write, and I feel that I cannot do better than take the 
information therein practically word for word as it 
was recorded each day from October 19th to Novem- 
ber nth. 

The famous salient of St. Mihiel had been wiped 
out a month before. Having held it successfully for 
four long years, the Germans considered their lines 
there impenetrable; but it took the Yankees just two 
short days, September 12th and 13th to reduce that 
four years' work to nothing, and on our side of the 
balance sheet now stood several thousand prisoners 
and a few hundred guns. It had happened a month 
before, but the battle fields were still fresh with Hun 
relics and ruins, and one had but to see to know that 
Heine and Fritz had lost no time in their departure. 
Everywhere ammunition dumps and other stores were 
left untouched by the fleeing foe. 

October 19th the 151st Field Artillery Brigade, less 
one regiment (the 301st) was attached to the 2nd 
Colonial Corps (French) of the Second Army, 
A. E. F., as corps artillery, with its rail head at Sorcy 
and its Refilling Point at Woinville. The zones and 
mission of the Brigade were assigned. In a general 
way our sector extended from Bonzee to Vigneulles. 
The line in this sector ran roughly northwest to south- 
east, the Germans holding the villages of Ville en 
Woevre, Pintheville, Riaville, Marcheville, St. Hilaire, 
Doncourt and Woel. 

October 21st was devoted to reconnaissance. The 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 29 

commanding officer, Colonel Conklin of the 303rd 
F. A. and staff arrived. An air raid by the enemy 
occurred at 7.00 p. m. They are all alike. This is 
what happens. Delicate instruments more sensitive 
than the human ear detect the sound of the aeroplane's 
engines at a great distance. These instruments are 
placed at intervals along the lines at what are known 
as listening posts or stations. Directly an enemy plane 
is detected, its whereabouts and direction are tele- 
phoned to the areas behind. There, the fact is an- 
nounced by a bugle call, followed by rattles, sirens 
and every other variety of music. This is the first 
you know of the "ships that pass in the night." There 
is a scramble for the nearest abri, otherwise known 
as bomb-proof or dugout. You stumble and fall down 
a flight of steps and find yourself from twenty to forty 
feet below ground. It is dark, and the air is damp and 
smells vilely. There are from fifty to a hundred other 
humans in this subterranean tomb, some lie down, 
prepared to spend the night, others, half-clad, shiver 
and wait. Then out of the distance you hear a faint 
humming as of insects in summer. It grows louder. 
It is the engines of the enemy's planes. Suddenly Hell 
IS torn loose. The anti-aircraft guns or Archies, as 
the British call them, have opened fire from the 
ground. The planes return the compliment with bombs 
and machine guns. A boiler factory in your head 
would not be nearly so bad for your ears as the crack- 
ing and shrieking that takes place. As suddenly as it 



30 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

started it ceases. AH is quiet. We go about our duties 
or sleep, as the case may be, until the next raid occurs. 
If it is a clear night and the planes are likely to return, 
there are many who prefer to stay in the dug-out and 
make a night of it there rather than spend the time 
until morning running back and forth. 

October 22nd the work of reconnaissance for bat- 
tery positions and P. C.s* continued. More enemy 
planes were seen over St. Mihiel. But this time it was 
broad day-light; they reconnoitered and took photo- 
graphs, but there was no battle royal to disturb the 
peace. Suddenly little balls of cotton appeared about 
the plane. They were the bursts of some distant anti- 
aircraft battery trying to annoy the aviator. 

October 23rd the commanding officer (Colonel 
Piatt) of the 302nd F. A. and staff arrived. In the 
afternoon enemy airplanes made a reconnaissance. 
The regimental advanced parties arrived. 

Reconnaissance was the chief work of the next few 
days. Lieutenant Colonel McCabe of the 302nd tak- 
ing the area to the north of Bonzee. The Germans 
must have had the same idea, for enemy aircraft con- 
tinued to pass over Headquarters. 

On October 28th the 33rd Division relieved the 79th 
Division in this sector, the 55th Field Artillery Bri- 
gade remaining in place, with its Headquarters at 
Troyon (P. C. Kilbreith). 

•Poiste de Commande 




Brigadier General Daniel F. Craig 



4^'! 



THE T51ST BRIGADE 31 

By November ist all the battery positions and P. 
C.s were located and billets were obtained for the 
regiments. Colonel Piatt of the 302nd F. A. chose 
some old German shelters near the one-time village of 
St. Remy for his P. C. His batteries were to be 
scattered through the Bois des Eparges, mostly to the 
north. The 3rd Battalion was to be behind the hills 
to the eastward. The country looked like pictures of 
the moon sometimes reproduced in scientific magazines 
because of interest but never on account of beauty. 
Once there had been woods ; now there was hardly a 
tree standing. All vegetation had been killed by gas 
and shell, — crater after crater gave mother earth a 
very diseased appearance. Here we spent our days 
and nights while the war lasted. Colonel Piatt chose 
Rupt for his billets. 

Colonel Conklin in selecting his P. C. showed better 
taste. He found an old German Headquarters, built 
like a Swiss chalet in the heart of the woods and far 
away from harm. Here he settled comfortably, two 
kilometres to the northeast of Deuxnouds and just 
South of the Grande Tranchee de Calonne. He had 
but two battalions. The first he placed to the east 
of his P. C, the second about four kilometres to the 
north. 

This same day liaison was established with S. R. S. 
No. 3 American, and on November 2nd with S. R. 
O. T. Nos. 58 and 67. 

November 3rd the Brigade Headquarters detach- 



32 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

ment arrived and was billeted in St. Mihiel, and infor- 
mation was received that the 302nd F. A. had de- 
trained at Dugny and was moving into Rupt en 
Woevre. 

November 4th information was received that the 
303rd F. A. had detrained at Dugny and was moving 
into Creue. The 3rd Battalion of the 303rd was as- 
signed to the Fourth Army Corps. 

November 5th the Second Battalion of the 302nd 
reported its guns in position and ready to open fire. 
Hardly was this accomplished when the Huns began 
to give them a taste of gas, over 3,000 rounds being 
reported. One gun of Battery B, 303 F. A. was re- 
ported to be in position. The Brigade was detached 
from the 2nd C. A. C. (French), and was put under 
the command of the 17th C. A. (French). 

November 6th one gun of the 303rd F. A. was ready 
to fire at midnight and the other guns were being 
moved up as fast as the positions were constructed. 

From 10.00 p. m. November 6th to 2.00 p. m. No- 
vember 7th, about 3,000 gas shells, mostly mustard, 
fell near B and F Batteries of the 302nd F. A., but 
though other artillery units nearby had a number of 
men gassed, the 302nd F. A. had no casualties, thanks 
to strict and effectual gas discipline. 

In the vicinity of P. C. Gross, Second Battalion of 
the 303d, about tw^o hundred gas and high explosive 
shells fell, also without casualties. 

In the afternoon Field Order No. i was issued di- 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 33 

reeling the 302nd to deliver harassing fire during. the 
night on Ville en Woevre and on the roads from that 
place to Braquis and Hennemont. The 303rd F. A. 
was to fire on Hennemont, Pareid, Maizeray and Mou- 
lotte. At 6.10 the orders were changed by telephone 
on account of later information, with the result that 
the 302nd F. A. took under fire two additional targets, 
which were identified only by their coordinates. The 
303rd fired at Pareid and Moulotte and on a battery 
in the Bois de Harville. 

On the night of November 6th and 7th, in a two 
company infantry raid with artillery support against 
the Chateau d'Ardnois, one German officer and twenty- 
two men were captured and from ten to fourteen 
killed. Our own casualties were slight. There was 
very little enemy artillery fire during the day. At 
9.15 however, on the night of November 7th, the 
operations officer of the 55th Field Artillery Brigade 
at P. C. Kilbreith reported heavy shelling by the 
enemy of Fresnes en Woevre. This village was now 
strongly held by our troops, and it was thought that 
the German fire was in retaliation for the raid. Our 
Sound Ranging Section S. R. S. No 3 had located 
the enemy batteries that were executing the fire and 
we were asked for neutralization at the earliest pos- 
sible moment. This order was sent to the 303rd F. A. 
by courier and telephone. At 11.00 a. m. the enemy 
having ceased his fire, the 303rd F. A. was ordered 
to discontinue firing. Field Order No. 2 was then 



34 THE 15 1ST BRIGADE 

issued authorizing the 303rd F. A. to fire at once for 
neutraUzation upon any enemy battery reported in 
action beyond Maizeray. In the meantime Major 
Hadley's Battalion of the 302nd F. A. was fired upon 
by the enemy with gas shells. Captain Lefferts was 
the only casualty. 

On November 8th two strong patrols of our in- 
fantry, sent early in the morning to the Bois de Har- 
ville and St. Hilaire, brought back three prisoners. The 
33rd Division reported considerable harassing fire 
about Les Eparges and Saulx en Woevre, with some 
interdiction fire on the villages at the base of the hills. 
The total was about 3,000 rounds. This was the first 
day that the air was clear enough for the G. P. F.s 
to register, and Colonel Conklin registered on Join- 
ville. Shortly after 4.00 o'clock. Balloon No. 22 re- 
ported two batteries firing. They were given to the 
303rd F. A. for immediate neutralization. In the 
meantime, orders had been sent out for the night's 
firing, the targets assigned to the 303rd F. A. being 
two batteries of 105 howitzers in the Bois de Harville 
and the towns Maizeray and Butgneville. The 302nd 
F. A. was given the Pintheville-Maizeray road, the 
Pintheville-Pareid road, Maizeray, Butgneville and 
St. Hilaire, the latter being the most important. The 
fire was to stop at 3.00 a. m. to permit an infantry 
raid to go into St. Hilaire and the vicinity. These 
orders, sent by telephone and courier, were in response 
to a request for help from the Divisional Artillery. 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 35 

They were followed by a Memorandum to the regi- 
ments designating the zones in which, after the start 
of the infantry raid on November 9th, it would not 
be safe for them to fire without express authority. 

On November 9th a change of organization occurred 
as a result of the removal of a large part of the French 
Artillery from the sector. The two batteries which 
were left, — one of 120 long and one of 155 long, — 
were taken over by General Davis and assigned to 
the command of Colonel Piatt of the 302nd F. A. in 
what then became known as the Groupment Piatt. 
General Davis thus became Commander of the Corps 
Artillery of the sector. 

Early in the morning of this same day, a request 
was received from the infantry through the Operations 
Officer of the 55th Field Artillery Brigade for help 
in a raid. It appeared that lack of ammunition for 
the Divisional artillery threatened to deprive the in- 
fantry of much needed artillery assistance. Orders 
were issued for concentration fire between 2.00 and 
5.00 a. m. on Maizeray, Butgneville and St. Hilaire 
and between 5.00 and 6.45 a. m. on Maizeray and 
Butgneville. With the approval of Corps Artillery 
Headquarters the regiments were permitted to use 
ammunition beyond that authorized for daily expen- 
diture. 

The strong reconnoitering patrols sent out by the 
33rd Division executed the raid on Marcheville. It 
was completely successful and resulted in the capture 



36 THE 1 51 ST BRIGADE 

of eighty prisoners including three officers. Patrols 
near Pintheville and Riaville met strong resistance. 
At 3.50 p. m. an enemy barrage of about 4,000 shells 
was laid down between Fresnes and Wadonville, prob- 
ably in retaliation for the raid of the previous night. 
Orders were issued that the regiments should fire at 
once on any batteries reported in action by the Sound 
Ranging Section (S. R. S. No. 3) and that every clear 
day should be utiUzed for registration. During the 
afternoon the 303rd F. A. was directed to fire on two 
batteries of 210 howitzers, — one near Labouville and 
the others northeast of Joinville, — and on a battery 
of medium calibre, just south of Moulotte. 

Late in the afternoon we were informed that an 
infantry raid would take place at H hour next morn- 
ing on our front. The Groupment Piatt were or- 
dered to fire on Maizeray and on the road between 
Pintheville and Maizeray. The 303rd was to fire on 
Maizeray, Harville and the same stretch of road and 
on batteries reported firing from points back of Maize- 
ray. The fire of both groups was to last for 105 
minutes after H hour and at 2.20 in the morning, 
notification was sent by courier to the commanding 
officers of the two regiments that H hour would be 

545 a. m. 

At 8.30 in the evening the General ordered a con- 
centration by the 302nd F. A. on Riaville, Pintheville 
and the road connecting them, to be fired between mid- 
night and 3 a. m. At 8.45, the 303rd F. A. was given 



THE 1 51 ST BRIGADE 37 

counter-battery work in answer to a call from the 
Divisional Artillery Headquarters. 

Upon the change in organization mentioned above, 
the advanced location for our Brigade P. C. was fixed 
at Creue. The regiments were ordered to reconnoitre 
to find locations for at least some of their guns out 
on the Plain of Woevre where they would be able to 
reach some of the German long range artillery which 
had been bothering us, and also follow up the advance 
of our infantry for a long distance without changing 
position for a second time. 

On November loth a general advance was ordered 
to begin at 7.00 a. m. but the order did not reach our 
Brigade. However, this information was obtained in- 
cidentally by the Brigade Commander, and at 10.40 
a. m. orders were issued for the regiments to provide 
advance telephone lines, with a view to establishing 
forward P. C.s. At the same time the Brigade P. C 
was opened at Creue. A series of orders were issued 
over the telephone with reference to a change of posi- 
tions by the 302nd F. A. and the 303rd F. A. and at 
11.48 we received orders from the corps that the 4.7 
regiment must advance as soon as possible. Orders 
were sent to them to complete all reconnaissance and 
prepare to move immediately. At 1.25 orders were 
received from the corps to move two batteries of the 
303rd F. A. with 400 rounds of ammunition at the tail 
of the main body of the 33rd Division in advance. It 
was thought that this was based on the supposition 



38 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

that the enemy was going to retire, which he had no 
intention of doing, as later developments showed. 

At 4.00 o'clock in the afternoon, word having been 
received that the country to the north and east of 
Bonzee was occupied by the enemy, an officer was sent 
to the 33rd Division occupying our sector and another 
to the 81 St Division on our left to find out the true 
state of affairs. There proved to be no basis whatever 
for this report, as the 33rd Division was holding its 
forward line in great strength with a view to attack- 
ing on the morning of the nth, and the 8ist Division 
was also reinforced for a continuation of their attack, 
begun on the loth. 

General Bailey, commanding the 8ist Division and 
Colonel Roberts, Chief of Staff, urgently requested 
artillery help in their attack on Ville en Woevre, Hen- 
nemont and other points. The Brigade supported these 
attacks between 5.00 and 7.00. 

The commanding General of the 33rd Division, hav- 
ing received orders to advance, called for support from 
the Corps Artillery on Pintheville, Harville, Moulotte, 
Marzeray, Pareid and batteries in the Bois de Har- 
ville and elsewhere. This support was given between 
9.25 p. m. November loth and 5.00 a. m. Nov- 
vember nth. 

At 7.30 p. m. the 302nd F. A. was ordered to move 
one battalion into the advanced positions in the Plain 
of the Woevre and to have another battalion in motion 
so as to reach its advanced position on the nth while 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 39 

the guns held in reserve were to continue the firing. 
One battaHon, in accordance with these instructions, 
took position on the Plain of the Woevre near Tresau- 
vaux, well in advance of the main body of the infantry 
and of the resistance line. It remained there over- 
night and until ordered to withdraw on the morning 
of the nth, when news was received that the armistice 
had been signed. 

In the meantime, three guns of the 303rd F. A. 
were successfully moved into similar forward posi- 
tions from which, if fighting had continued, they might 
have done highly effective work against some of the 
distance long range German guns, especially those that 
had been bothering St. Maurice, Thillot and other 
towns along the base of the hills. The Brigade fired 
736 rounds in the course of the day, against a number 
of different targets assigned from time to time by 
Brigade Headquarters, or reported direct to the regi- 
ments by the S. R. S. 

At about ten o'clock on the night of the loth the 
French corps commander under whom we were serv- 
ing, said he expected important news from the Eiffel 
Tower wireless station before morning. He asked 
Brigade Headquarters to notify him should our wire- 
less pick up anything of interest. Taking the daily 
communiques from the Eiffel Tower had been part of 
our routine work, so the operators knew her* voice 

*The Eiffel Tower was known among the operators a^ "Ethel". 



40 THE 15 1ST BRIGADE 

intimately. Accordingly they were not unduly sur- 
prised when she started her familiar squeak early on 
that historic morning. Received at 5.45 a. m. No- 
vember nth, the message that the armistice had been 
signed and that hostilities were to cease at 11.00 a. m. 
was reported at the Brigade P. C, Creue, by telephone 
from the St. Mihiel Headquarters. To the credit of 
the Brigade let it be known that it was from our sta- 
tion that the news was given to the entire sector. 

The 33rd Division attacked at 5.00 a. m. Strong 
patrols sent out along the front captured three officers 
and eighty-three men. Infantry lines were established 
at the close of hostilities as follows: Chateau d'Aul- 
nois, Riaville, Marchville, St. Hilaire, south of Butgne- 
ville, Bois de Warville thence southward to Ferma 
d'Hautes Journeux. These towns were taken on the 
morning of the nth. It was a glorious piece of work 
but hardly worth the price in American life it involved. 
The Germans, pushed to the limit, made a last stub- 
bom resistance and from behind their fortifications 
and barbed wire delivered a murderous fire on our 
troops with rear guard machine gun action from hid- 
den nests. The battlefield as I saw it that afternoon, 
I shall not soon forget. There lay an American ser- 
geant, where he had fallen, and behind him lay his 
men, not twenty yards from the German machine gun 
they were attacking. My thoughts were first of sor- 
row that these men should have made the supreme 
sacrifice in those last minutes of the great war. In 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 41 

those fine young faces still shone the joy of life, theirs 
but yesterday, when they had thought of home and all 
it held in store. But I read another story, that of 
peace, such as is only experienced after a hard struggle 
won and as I looked at the scene I felt a thrill of pride. 
What a sacrifice! but God, how gloriously made! 

The plans for the early morning attack contemplated 
prearranged firing by the Corps Artillery until 7.00 
a. m. Information that the Armistice had been signed 
having arrived at 5.45 a. m., the Heavy Artillery Com- 
mander at that hour ordered no more firing, unless 
urgently called for by some infantry unit which was 
in need of help or was being effectively shelled. The 
advance Brigade P. C. at Creue was closed at 11.00 
a.m. Ammunition had been brought up during the 
night and the corps artillery stood ready with some of 
its guns advanced beyond the main line of resistance, 
to support fully a further general infantry attack. 

At 10.55 on the morning of the Armistice, the 303rd 
Band at Creue played taps, then the Marseillaise, then 
the Star Spangled Banner and then Reveille. All that 
morning the artillery thundered and was still thunder- 
ing when the music started. When it stopped, all was 

still. 

On the afternoon of November 12th I walked along 
our front between the lines. The stillness of peace 
was upon the earth where but yesterday the din of 
bloody battle reigned. Our lines were held by a series 
of sentries walking their posts as if on parade. Over 



42 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

yonder the Germans were doing likewise. The sun 
shone in gladness upon the scene. The air was crisp 
and the reliefs were gathering wood for their fires. 
As the shadows grew longer and the sun set in a blaze 
of glory, the figures of the sentries grew dim, but their 
positions became identified by the bonfires they had 
kindled which now alone marked the lines. As I 
turned to go, rockets once used to call for a barrage 
or as a warning of gas lit the sky. Thus ended the war. 



SUMMARY 

A RESUME of the history of the 151st Field Artillery 
Brigade during its short term at the front shows a 
great variety of services and connections. 

Originally constituting a part of the Artillery of the 
Second Army, the Brigade was attached on its arrival 
in the zone of advance to the Second Colonial Corps 
of the French army in the Troyon sector, where it 
served under General Blondlat, Corps commander and 
General Jaquet, Chief of Artillery. 

The Second Colonial Corps was relieved by the 17th 
French Corps, General Hellot commanding. General 
Walch, Chief of Artillery. On October 29th, the 
Brigade came under their command. 

On November 13th the Brigade was assigned to the 
Fourth American Corps. When the Fourth Corps 
moved forward at 5.00 a. m., November 17th, the 
Brigade passed into the Second Army Reserve. When 
the regiments first came into the St. Mihiel sector, the 
infantry holding it were the 79th Division of the Am- 
erican Army, General Joseph E. Kuhn commanding; 
the 39th French Infantry Division and the 28th French 
Regiment of Dismounted Cavalry. On the 28th of 
October, however, the 79th was relieved by the 33rd 
American Division, General George Bell commanding. 

The 39th French Infantry Division and the 28th 

[43] 



44 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

regiment of Dismounted Cavalry were withdrawn and 
the sector of the 17th Corps was from VigneuUes to 
Bonzee. 

The Corps Artillery, 151st Brigade and two batter- 
ies of French Artillery a Pied, covered the entire front 
of fifteen kilometres. 



o 



This is the story of our few days at the front before 
the Armistice, and this is what we did in the actual 
fighting. 

I have been obliged for lack of space and knowledge 
to omit those things most interesting to the individual 
— little incidentals, perhaps from the point of view of 
the rest of us, but to him they constituted the war, 
and always will. For this reason they will remain 
forever vivid pictures in his memory and are therefore 
not necessary to chronicle. At the same time it will 
do no harm to recall a few more facts and feelings that 
all in one way or another experienced during that 
momentous although brief period of our lives. Mud is 
perhaps the foremost to the author. But there were 
others. At night there was not a light as we stumbled 
and cursed, feeling our way in those ruined villages ; 
automobiles and trucks travelled similarly without 
lights in the jet blackness, sometimes on the road but 
more often off it. And the drivers, let us not forget 
them and their troubles: the sinking feeling in the 
region of the stomach as the truck, laden to its limit 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 45 

with ammunition, would itself first sink and then stick 
in that sea of mud. Tired to the point of exhaustion, 
they would dig for hours and get out only to be in 
again a hundred yards down the road. Or perhaps 
Buddy, with his truck, would try to pull us out with 
the result that he too got stuck. Then there were the 
nights spent going into position where the impossible 
was often accomplished, — that was work such as few 
outside of the army will experience, — but it was ex- 
citing and it was necessary, and that explains how it 
was done. Following this were the nights spent in 
serving the guns, — sleepless nights, — but it was fun, 
and the excitement made it interesting. Last but not 
least, let us recall for a second, if we can, how it felt 
to be under fire, — but most of us were too busy and 
tired to have any feelings. Such as they were they 
were hardly pleasant. 

While most of the Brigade was thus solving its 
troubles, the 3rd Battalion of the 303rd was having 
troubles of its own. Detached from the Brigade and 
assigned to the Fourth Corps on November 4th, they 
were ordered to take a position a thousand metres in 
front of the Seventy-fives and about the same distance 
behind our own front line. The terrain assigned them 
for their guns was a wooded swamp, perhaps a thou- 
sand metres from the road. It was down this road 
that they brought their guns under practically contin- 
uous enemy fire. Nor did the fire stop when they 
reached their positions. Just as regularly as the half 



46 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

hours came around on the clock so did the Germans go 
the rounds of these two batteries and Battahon Head- 
quarters with high explosive and gas. There were 
many narrow escapes but no serious casualties. The 
dispersion of the German guns and the regularity with 
which they fired were alone responsible, so say the 
Third Battahon. But I am inclined to think, in spite 
of German declarations of "Gott mit Uns", that the 
Bon Dieu was on our side; for besides the elements 
above mentioned, practically every direct hit or what 
was so close as to amount to a direct hit, proved to 
be a dud. Of the labors involved in taking this posi- 
tion and the will that delivered the goods we cannot 
say enough. The job was done and done gloriously. 
While the Brigade, minus one regiment, was dis- 
porting itself in and about St. Mihiel, that regiment, 
the 301st F. A. was ordered to another part of the 
front, November 2nd. Accordingly they went to Neuf- 
chateau near Chaumont, where they were to become a 
part of the Army Artillery for the ist army. There 
they were held in reserve and obliged to wait for fur- 
ther orders, which did not come. Finally it was learnt 
that they were to move forward and take up positions 
about November 12th, but the Germans also hearing 
of this, signed the Armistice on the nth. So it was 
that our lost regiment did not get into action. We 
sympathize with them, but we do not feel as they do, 
for we know the goods were there and given the op- 
portunity, would have been delivered. On November 




Colonel Arthur Conklin 



THE 151ST BRIGADE 47 

29th they were ordered to prepare for return to the 
United States. Many miserable weeks followed at 
Brest, but finally, one glorious day, the Statue of 
Liberty appeared before them and January 6th, 1919, 
they landed in New York from the good ship "Nieuw 
Amsterdam". In this the rest of the Brigade fared 
not so well. 

After the Armistice was signed, the regiments were 
withdrawn to billets and the materiel was parked. The 
302nd returned to Rupt en Woevre, where they got 
busy on the famous show they produced a few weeks 
later. The 303rd were not as easily satisfied. They 
had some troops still in and about the positions, — 
some more at Creue, a lot more at Savannieres, and 
the 3rd BattaUon which had rejoined the regiment 
was now at St. Christophe Ferme. Later, the First 
and Second Battalions moved to Troyon and the Third 
Battalion to Ambly, while regimental Headquarters 
was established at St. Mihiel. 

While thus in billets there were many rumors, but 
they were mostly of "occupation" with the Third 
Army. The fact was, we were kept busy policing the 
villages and a good part of France. The part we got 
was not in the very best of order, so we had our hands 
full. At the same time it was not all work ; the 302nd 
show took us out of the mud and gunk of the busted 
villages of France and dropped us temporarily in front 
of the foot-lights of Broadway. There were other 
bright spots but they were not the weather. Meantime 



48 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

we waited for we knew not what. We got to know 
our French brothers in arms, and we sympathized with 
them for all they had lost. But they demanded our 
admiration even more than our sympathy. In the 
face of ruined homes and brothers lost, they could 
say : "Cest la guerre" and could sing with us the Mar- 
seillaise and Madelon : 

Quand Madelon vient nous servir a boire 
Sous la tonnelle au frole de son jupon 
Et gue chaqu'un lui raconte une histoire, 
Une histoire a sa fagon 
La Madelon pour nous n'est pas severe 
Lorsqu'on lui prend la faille ou le menton, 
Elle rit, c'est tous le mal qu'elle sait faire, 
Madelon, Madelon, Madelon. 



IV. HOME 

On December 20th the order to prepare arrived. 
Prepare for what? The United States of America. 
My God was it possible? Where were they? But it 
was so, and a better Christmas present would have 
been hard to find. This was our second Christmas in 
the army, and apparently it was to be our last. Cheers ! 
The occasion however recalled a remark attributed to 
General Pershing in August as follows : "Hell, Heaven 
or Hoboken by Christmas." He was right, and we got 
seats at the first show on his list. 

On January 3rd 1919, the Brigade was ordered to 
Bordeaux for transportation to the United States, and 
on January 8th it entrained at Bannoncourt. It was 
hoped by all that we would return to our old billets, — 
but no, they took us back to that Godforsaken Camp 
de Souge. We arrived Janaury nth. However it 
would not be for long and we were on our way home. 
All were cheerful, — some artificially so. Little did 
we realize that it was to be a stay of three long months 
and that we would be allowed to amuse ourselves with 
skinning mules and guard duty. Looking backwards 
we can laugh, but I doubt if we could have done so 
at the time had we known how long it was to be. On 
February 4th the General and some of his staff sailed 
from Genecart on the "Matsonia". This was en- 

[49] 



50 THE 151ST BRIGADE 

couraging; we would follow soon, but we did not. 
However on March i8th we moved to Pauillac, about 
twenty-five miles down the river from Bordeaux, 
where there are docks and delousing plants. 

And on April 13th we sailed for Boston on the 
"Santa Rosa". And here I must leave, for it is the 
author's desire that this little sketch be ready when 
the brigade lands. 

And what has it all amounted to ? To many at first 
thought it has been but a year and a half taken out of 
their lives. But let us consider for a second. Here 
was every American energy bent for the first time to 
the accomplishment of a single purpose. The indiv- 
idual and his every interest was sacrificed for a great 
cause. We learned that there was something bigger 
than self and more worth while. We learned to ap- 
preciate our vast country as we should have been able 
to do in no other way. 

"NOT WHAT WE DID, 
BUT WHAT WE WERE WILLING TO DO." 



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